Desolate Dreams
by dragon of spirits
Summary: The war is over, but not in the way everyone imagined it would end. With only one thing left over from the past, can some very young kids try to save the future. With some help naturally... R&R!
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hi everyone. This is my first Avatar story, and I really am working hard on it, so I hope you all like it immensely! It takes place after they leave the Western Air Temple, which, yes I know, never happened yet, but pretend! By the way, this is just a prologue, so I think I should just explain, the story will not be about book 3, it's going to be something totally different (and original I hope). ENJOY!**

** Disclaimer: Yeah right, I wish it. Don't we all...**

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**Prologue**

_My name is Aang. I am only twelve, and already great responsibility has been thrust upon me. I never asked for it, I never wanted it, but I've learned to accept it. Not like I had much of a choice. It was pretty much accept it, or die. So yeah, I bet you can understand why I made the choice that I had made._

_What is this great responsibility you ask? Well, to put it simply, I have to save the world from an evil psychopath that thinks only the Fire Nation should rule. Kinda screwy, right? I thought__ so too. There's supposed to be balance between everything. _

_That's my job. Keeping balance. If there's a fight, you can count on me being there to stop it in process and restore peace. But, then again, I guess I haven't been doing a very good job. Why else would we have been thrown into a hundred year war? _

_Some people… well, a lot of people blame me for what happened. I should have been there, fighting alongside my nation. But I wasn't. Now, there are no air nomads left. That makes me the last airbender in existence. For the last few months, I've been hoping that maybe they had all gone into hiding. But after 100 years, you kinda lose hope._

_I don't want to lose hope. I've seen people with nothing, who basically strive only on hope. And if they can, then so can I. At least now, I have great friends to help me survive. _

_There's Sokka, the fifteen-year-old meat eating and pessimistic planner/warrior__ from the Southern Water Tribe. He's like an older brother to me. And no matter how many sarcastic comments he makes, or how many times he trips over his own feet, he's very strong and caring inside. _

_There's Toph. A feisty, earth bending, blind, twelve-year-old girl.__ She's like a best friend and sister combined. She always tries to hide what she's really feeling inside, and covers it with a tough girl act, but I know deep down, she cares for us all and will be beside us threw thick and thin. She joined us since her parents, the Bei Fongs, never truly understood her, since she was blind and wanted to Earth Bend. She said that since she has joined us, she's never felt freer. _

_Then there's Katara. Wow, there must be so much I can say about her…. She's smart, resourceful, pretty, and she's been with me from the very beginning. Ever sin__ce I first opened my eyes at the ice-burg. She's like a fourteen-year-old sister to me, even though sometimes, I want her to be a little more then that. But… I don't think she feels the same way about me. And I think I may have started to fall for Toph a little instead…. I'm very confused at the moment.  
_

_Anyway, beside from my love life, my friends and I have traveled around the world, finding bending masters, a__nd thinking of ways defeat the Fire Lord. We almost had him once when an eclipse had come, blocking out the sun and taking away all the fire benders power. But the Fire Lord had known we were coming, and we had to retreat, leaving all the adults behind. Appa, my flying bison, could only carry so many people, and the men had insisted I not be captured. Because to them, I was there last hope for freedom._

_I feel like a lousy last hope though. What kind of hope let's more people die each day? What kind of hope le__t's the world fall into despair? My kind I guess, since that's what's happened._

_I guess I'll __finish it up now. I just had to make sure my story was recorded somewhere, in-case… you know, I die. Since I'm at the Western Air Temple, and I am an air nomad, I thought it would be appropriate to leave the letter here. We're leaving today, Zuko said it would be safer for him to teach fire bending someplace far away. We're too close to the fire nation here._

_Did I forget to men__tion who Zuko is? Oh, well he's a sixteen-year-old Fire Nation prince, who's father sent him to exile, and the only way to regain his honor was to capture me. And he tried for about two months. Then, at Ba Sing Se, his sister killed me (even though I really didn't die) and he was welcomed back into the Fire Nation. But by then, he didn't want it anymore. So he came to me and offered to teach fire bending. At first, I didn't trust him. But after he saved my life from Combustion Man, I allowed him to stay. _

_I think Katara and Sokka still hate him, but Toph says I made the right choice and that really, Zuko is confused inside and needs some help to be steered in the right direction. She says I should be the one to steer him to good. I'm not so sure…_

_So, that about wraps it up. I'll __hide this somewhere that no one can find it. If we win the war, I may come back and read what I wrote. It may be funny to see what I thought when I was twelve. Then again, if we lose the war, I hope someone finds this. That way, at least everyone will know I didn't run away, unlike the first time. _

_We all fought, we all tried, and we will succeed. Some would call this blind optimistic hope, which, I guess it really is. But it's what keeps me going. What keeps all of us going. _

_If the war isn't over by the time someone reads this __letter, and I am not there anymore, I want whoever finds this to take a stand. Fight, rebel, protest, anything to bring down the Fire Lord. Hopefully, you won't have to, because by the time anyone finds this, the war will be over. But just in case…_

_Anyway, I__'ve spoken enough. I guess this is where I end the letter. I don't really know how though… I guess if you found this, you've enjoyed the story, and if the wars still going, heed the advice above. That's it I guess. Should I end this with some words of wisdom? I don't really know any, so I guess I'll just say good luck. You'll need it._

_Sincerely your A__vatar,_

_Avatar __Aang_

I signed the letter with a flourishing signature, one that I had been working on for a while. I reread it, and found I approved of everything I had written. I wonder if I'll ever see this again? Maybe, then again, maybe not.

"Aang, we're ready to leave!" I heard Katara shout.

"Coming!" I yelled back. I quickly stuffed my letter between a crack in the wall, and made sure it was secure, so the wind wouldn't just blow it away. One day, I have to come back and get it.

"Everything's packed?" I asked, jumping on to Appa's back. They nodded, so I said, "Yip-yip." Appa took to the skies, while I watched as we pulled away from the air temple, until it was just a speck in the distance. I felt some sorrow, but the good kind. I may be leaving behind a memory, but I was moving forward to knew ones.

Turning to look behind me, I saw what awkward positions everyone was in. Sokka and Katara sat on one side, shooting nasty glares to Zuko, while he sat on the other side, shooting the glares right back at them. Toph sat somewhere in the middle, oblivious to what was happening.

After about five minutes of this silent battle going on, I finally yelled, "Enough all ready!" They seemed surprised by this, but didn't argue, and the glaring stopped. I sighed, pushing myself to sit on Appa's head, away from the others.

How would we survive if we couldn't even get along?

This was going to be one _**long**_ journey…

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**So, how is it so far? **


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone! This is OFFICIALLY the first chapter! yey (_everyone cheers in background_) WOOHOO! Oh, and I urge you all to realize that this takes place four years later! which means everything's going to be very different, but everything will be explained in future chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar (_sobs_) unfortunately. but i do own any of my OC's! Yeyness to that!!!... I blame coke for my hyper-ness at the moment! (_I don't own coke either! No matter how much I annoy the coke people, they refuse to sell! and they call me annoying! lol...YUMMY COKE!_) um... on with the story? ****  
**

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**Chapter 1**

**_Four Years Later_**

"Run Keira! Run and don't look back!" I heard my mother's frantic cry and dashed forward, not even bothering to look in which direction I had taken off towards.

_Run, just run. Don't stop. Run faster!_

My feet pound against the stone round as I pushed my way through a crowd of people; Fire Nation soldiers hot on my tail.

"MOVE!" I yelled, pushing someone hard out of the way. The man I pushed stumbled, looking very confused, but I didn't have time to regret what I had done and apologize. All I had time for right now was running.

_How do I get myself into these messes? _I thought. _Stupid Sari said we wouldn't get caught! _

She had promised that nothing bad would happen. But then again, she's often wrong. So why when she had said we should sneak on to palace grounds and see if there was anything interesting, did I actually believe her?! Everyone knew going on palace ground is basically treason, and thus, imprisonment.

"I am an idiot!" I mumbled, shoving yet another person out of the way. I wasn't the kind of girl to get in to trouble often. Actually, I avoided trouble. But my friend Sari, well, she was a different story. And somehow, she always managed to pull me into her idiotic and dangerous stunts. The only difference is, most of them don't manage to get you sent to jail for. Unlike the last one she had come up with.

_Where to go?_ I thought. We had agreed to meet up at Toran's place if anything were to happen, since the soldiers wouldn't dare step foot on a high ranking officials land. Toran was a really good friend of Sari and I. He was the son of a General or something, but all that really mattered was he was up there on the rich list. WAY up there. So his house was a safe spot.

_Sari will probably be there already…_ I didn't really know if that was good news or bad news. Knowing her, she'll have probably thought up another hair-brained stunt for Toran and me to get pulled into.

_Oh well, better that then going to jail._ I had finally made it to Toran's house and the guard opened the gate for me. I had come to Toran's house so much, all the servants already knew who I was.

"Thanks!" I said, waving to the watch guard. He waved back, oblivious to all the soldiers casing me.

_Well_, I thought grimly, _not for long._

Like I had assumed, Sari and Toran were in the basement, talking.

"Hey guys." I said, lifting my hand as a greeting.

"Hey Keira, Sari was just telling me about your guys latest adventure. I wish I had been there. But that stupid cold I had just wouldn't go away!" Toran said.

'Trust me, you didn't miss anything. Oh, by the way Sari, you are so dead after you figure out how to get us out of this mess!" Sari grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, I didn't think they would send soldiers after two fourteen year old girls!"

"Well, you were wrong, and I had rather like to not go to jail for the rest of my life!" I yelled.

"What's all the racket?" Toran's sister asked, descending the steps slowly. She was very nice, and helped us through a lot of problems, even though she was nineteen, and we were all fourteen.

"Someone, I'm not going to mention names, but it's Sari if you're wondering, just got us in a world of trouble."

"Hey, I thought you weren't mentioning names!" Sari said angrily.

"Yeah, well, I lied." I said smugly.

"Uh, girls, I think you're forgetting that you have a legion of soldiers chasing you." Toran butted in. A look of surprise pasted itself on Toran's sister's face.

"Do I really want to know?" She asked.

"Probably not." I said. " All you need to know is Sari and I are in for about three years of jail if someone," at this point I made my best puppy dog eyes at Toran's sister, " doesn't help us."

She sighed. "I assume I'm that someone…"

Sari joined me with her own big eyes. "Pretty please?"

Toran's sister smiled. " Well, I guess since you asked so nicely. I'm good friends with Princess Azula at the Palace. I'll just tell her you didn't mean to do… whatever you did."

Sari and I jumped up and hugged her, while Toran just grinned. "Thank you so much!!!" She pushed us away with one hand.

"Uh, yeah, I don't do hyper!" She said with a frown. We grinned. "Oh, right. Sorry." She rolled her eyes and headed back upstairs.

"You know Toran, sometimes your sisters monotonousness scares me." Sari said.

"That's Mai for you. She is completely stripped of emotion. According to my parents, she was much worse a few years ago. It was the years I was spending with my grandfather, so I never really go tot see her be Miss empty-soul." He said with a grin.

"Well, she can be as emotionless as she wants, as long as she gets me out of jail!" I said.

"Self absorbed." Sari taunted.

"How am I self absorbed?"

"AHEM!" Toran coughed loudly. We stopped fighting long enough to look at him. "Thanks, Anyway, I thought of a great next adventure. There's legend to be an abandoned air temple about five miles outside the city. If we take a boat, we could get there in half a day. For one night we would sleep there, and the next day head back. It would be so awesome!"

"An air temple huh? Sounds like fun! You in Keira?" Said questioned.

I paused for a second before saying; "You know it! At least this one won't get us sent to jail. Anyway, it will give our parents a chance to simmer down about what we did. My mom was pretty mad when I ran from the house."

"Mine too." Sari giggled. "My dad looked about ready to join the guards and capture me himself." We all broke out in a laughing fit. Once we finally managed to clam down. Toran said.

"So it's decided. We go tomorrow."

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**Review and I'll give you all coke!... oh wait, I don't own that... I'll give you a cyber cookie! THOSE I own... well the ones I create I own... I'll stop blather now...** (by the way, the Mai in this story is the Mai in the series. I just made her have a brother that was living with her grandfather. Hence why he wasn't seen in the show! I'm such a genius!... my sister just said nu-uh???? MEANIE!!) **Review!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Chapter 2 BABY! I'm starting to really enjoy typing up this story. Though I'm a little stuck somewhere in the middle. Just for anyone wondering, this is not going to be a short story. not by a long shot. It might have been before, but I just did something that will make it ver, Very VERY long. so sit back and relax cuz' this may be happening for a while. Anyone who reviews gets COOKIES! YUMMY! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**:... Now,lets all use some common sense. NO I DO NOT OWN IT!

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**Chapter 2**

We packed all our stuff onto the small boat Toran had managed to get us.

"You know, it must be really nice to have money to throw around." Sari said. "If I had all that money, I would make sure my parents got me everything I wanted."

"Sari, you already do that, because you _do_ have money to throw around." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Oh, right…" She replied embarrassed.

"Anyway, you guys pack everything you need?" Toran asked. We nodded and all climbed into the boat. Supposedly, if you followed the shore of the ocean for about a mile, you'll come to an area that is long and flat, with a crevice about two miles out. Once you get to the big gapping hole, you have to find the air temple itself, which is supposedly the hardest part. It seems no one can find it. They have even used the new flying devises, but it was never found. We plan on being the first.

"Okay, Toran, you steer first, since you know how to do it best. Sari and I will keep look out for any fire navy ships. If we spot any, you'll have to steer us away from them. I'd rather not sink to the bottom of the ocean" Toran nodded and went to the rudder.

"Sari, you're with me on watch duty," She saluted playfully and took her spot in the front of the ship.

"Wait, then… who rows?" Toran asked. Sari and I exchanged glances that both said one thing: Not me!

Well, it ended up we both rowed while Toran steered. "This is cruel and unusual punishment! You're getting me back for getting us in trouble, aren't you Keira!"

I rolled my eyes. "If this was my revenge would **I** be ROWING!" She mulled this over while I rolled my eyes again. "Trust me, my revenge is going to be much more… interesting."

"Sari, if I were you, I'd jump ship. Last time Keira got revenge on me, I had honey and feathers stuck in my hair for a week." Toran said playfully.

"DON"T YOU DARE GET HONEY IN MY HAIR!" Sari yelled, holding it protectively. Toran and I just laughed.

After about an hour of rowing, and a half a hour of trying to push our boat out of the shallows, we managed to find the flats.

"Toran, are you sure this is it?" Sari asked skeptically.

"Positive. If we head over this for about two or three hours, we should get to the Western Air Temple."

I moaned. "Great, now not only will my arms hurt, but so will my legs! Joy."

"Oh stop being such a drama queen Keira. This is going to be so much fun!" Sari said trying to raise my spirits. Inefficiently I must add.

"Whatever," I slung my bag over my shoulder, "I just want to get there already so we will have more time to explore. No one has been there in who knows how long."

"Guys, let me just remind you we have to be careful since this land is off limits." Toran said cautiously.

"What land isn't off limits?" Sari snorted. "Ever since the Fire Lord won the war four years ago, everything is much more… what's the word?"

"Messed up?" I offered.

"That's it! Everything is much more messed up… wait, that's not right?" Sari corrected, mostly talking to herself now.

"Um, yeah, okay, can we get a move on?" Toran asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Alright let's go!"

Two and a half hours later, we were all about ready to collapse then and there. Actually, Sari **did** collapse.

"Too-tired. Can't-go-on-much-longer!" Sari said, falling on her bag and probably squishing the contents inside.

"And you call me a drama queen." I said with a smirk. Sari glared at me, but didn't reply.

"I refuse to move another inch!" Sari declared.

"I don't think you'll have to move more then two! Look! There it is!" Toran yelled, running to the huge canyon in the ground. Sari and I exchanged glances we took off, running after Toran, Sari taking longer then myself, since she seemed to be having trouble getting up with the bag on her back.

"Woah…" Toran didn't finish his sentence. We were standing at the edge of a massive cliff that seemed to stretch on for miles. Some birds circled in the sky, and the wind whipped our faces and hair, making our cheeks sting and our eyes water slightly.

"It's amazing." Sari said, breath-taken.

"But… where's the temple?" I asked. We all looked upward, trying to find it in the sky, but there was nothing in sight. There weren't even any clouds to be hiding it.

"It's not here." Toran said, grief struck by the fact we could not find it. "But, I was so sure!"

" Maybe it's near a different hole?' Sari said.

"There aren't any other big holes!" Toran replied angrily.

'Well…" I zoned myself out from their argument. They would probably be at it for hours now. I was wondering myself where the Western Air Temple was. Someone had to find it eventually, right? And it can't possibly be that hard to find a whole city? Well, apparently it can…

I brought myself to the very edge of the cliff and peered down into the darkness that lay below me. It seemed to go on eternally, like if you were to fall, you would just fall forever. I was about to find out first-hand.

The ground beneath me stared to crumble and my balance was lost. My hands flew out to my side, trying to regain my balance, but it was no use. In seconds, I was tumbling through the air to my inevitable demise.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I didn't want to die yet! I at least wanted to date some hot fire nation boys first!

"KEIRA!" I heard my friends yell, but it all seemed distant.

_Focus._ I mentally told myself. Looking around, I spotted some green vines, which I quickly took hold off. The friction against my hands was bringing unbelievable pain, but I refused to let go. I squeezed my eyes shut, fearing that the darkness would be the last thing I ever saw.

Suddenly, it stopped. I slowly opened one eye and gasped at the sight before me.

"Guys!" I yelled up to my friends. "I think we've just found the Western Air Temple."

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**DoS: Please review! I'll give you Zuko!**

**Zuko: HEY!!!!  
**

**DoS: ...Well, I can't give you Zuko, but i can give you a virtual plushy of Zuko you can squish and love!**

**Zuko: (glares angrily) I hate you.**

**DoS: Get used to it! **

**REVIEW PLEASE!**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! Thank you soooooo much for the reviews! I luv them! Oh, and any reviewers get a virtual Zuko plushy!**

**Zuko: (GLARES) grr...**

**DoS: ... hehe, I had better run now. ...I don't own avatar! Enjoy! (runs screaming from a very angry looking Zuko, who's throwing fireballs at her!) AHHH!!!!!**

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**Chapter 3**

While Sari and Toran could have just fallen like I had (with that 90 chance of dyeing) they chose the safer way and went down by rope. They seemed just as shock at the sight as I had been. It was a whole city in the side of a hole! Some on the buildings hung upside-down, and I wondered how people had been able to get to them.

_Oh, duh, Airbenders! _I mentally smacked myself on my forehead. I would have done it physically, but then I would have plunged to my demise. And that was not on my list of things I want to do before I hit twenty.

"THIS IS SO COOL!" Sari screamed. She swung her rope until she was able to jump and land on the ground. Toran and I followed her.

"Oh MY god! Look at this! No this! No this!" Sari seemed to be having some kind of conflict with herself as she ran from object to object.

"WOW! Check out this fountain!" Okay, she was officially way too hyper for her own good now, but Toran and I knew that once she was in one of these moods, there was no getting her out of it. Better to just let Sari use up all of that energy.

"Hey Keira, I'm going to check out some of the other buildings. Want to come?" Toran asked. The wind seemed to ruffle his hair ever so slightly as he held his hand out to me, a grin plastered on his face. I felt a light pink blush creep up my cheeks.

'Um, not just yet. I think I'll stay with Sari until she calms down." He seemed a little disappointed by my decision, but didn't argue.

'Oh, okay, well, see you guys later. I'll meet you back here in an hour!" He ran up the stairs, only pausing to wave his hand in a goodbye, before disappearing behind a wall.

I walked over to the nearest stone wall I could find and started whacking my head against it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" I said, hitting my head with each word. "I-am-an-idiot!… Oww." Okay, I admit that may have not been the smartest move. I feel a major headache coming on.

_What's this?_ I thought, seeing a yellow-white paper stick out from between the two rocks I had been smashing my head against. The wind was making it flutter, but not enough to blow it away. I carefully pried it out from the rocks and unrolled it. Slowly, I read what was written.

It was by some kid named Aang. In it, he explained how he had a lot of responsibility, but great friends. I was in kind of a trance as I read it. This kid was younger then I was and he had to save the world? Not only that, but he seemed to have a lot of issues with some guy named Zuko. From his letter, it sounded like he was hunted, die (kinda), and had to face the Fire Lord, almost all by himself.

It wasn't until I reached the end that I truly understood who this Aang guy was. The Avatar! I was reading something written by the Avatar himself! I was speech-less for about ten minutes, until Sari came over to me and waved her hand in front of my face.

"Heeellllllloooooo. Earth to Keira. Are you there?" She said.

"Huh, what?" I pulled out of my trance as Sari gave me a strange look. "What's that?" She asked.

"What?" I asked, hastily shoving the paper under my sash.

"Oh don't play dumb with me! I saw that thing in your hand. What is it, where did you find it?" she asked, pouring the questions on to me. Sighing in defeat, I pulled out the letter.

"It's a note. I found it stuck in between two stones." She read it over slowly, consuming the inky black words that splayed over the paper.

"Woah… this is… amazing. Do you realize you found something written by the Avatar! Aang? Hmm… I know which one he was. Aang was the avatar that had disappeared. A hundred years later, he just came back, out of the blue. He was going to take on the Fire Lord, but Sozin's comet came early and Fire Lord Ozai used it to end the war, bringing victory to the fire nation. But that all happened four years ago!"

"Wow, Sari, I knew you were into history and all, but how do you know so much?" I asked, my mouth hanging open.

"I talk to Mai a lot, since eventually, Toran's jokes get a little to corny for my taste. She was there when it happened. According to her, Princess Azula had been sent to capture the avatar, after her brother failed miserably. She recruited Ty Lee and Mai to help her, and together, they hunted him down."

"At Ba Sing Se, Princess Azula shot lighting at the Avatar, and for about a month, everyone thought he had died, but on the day of black sun, he attacked the palace, but everyone already knew about the eclipse, and was safe in a bunker. The Avatar was forced to retreat, leaving over half his warriors to be captured.

"It's rumored that they came here to recuperate, and Prince Zuko followed them and offered to train Aang in Fire Bending. But, the avatar didn't have enough time to master all the elements, and for some reason, Sozin's comet had come a whole month early. No one was prepared for the attack the Fire Lord used, and soon, the war was over." Sari finally finished her long, Long, LONG history speech.

"So, is the avatar dead?" I asked. She shrugged.

"No one knows. A new Avatar may have been born, but then everyone would have heard of that. The old one just disappeared…."

"Like he did a hundred years ago." I finished for her. I had a lot to think over.

" Are you going to do what the letter says?" Sari asked, pulling me out of my thoughts once again. She does that a lot.

"What are you talking about?" I said, very confused at the moment.

"Look, it says here that if someone finds this letter and the war has not been won, by the Avatar I'm assuming, then who ever finds it should take a stand. Finish what Aang started and all that."

"WHAT! ARE YOU CRAZY! That's high treason, I could be sent to jail, I could be KILLED! Do you really expect me to take the advice of a letter written by a twelve year old, over my LIFE!" I took several deep breaths, half of them coming out as huffs of anger.

"Finished yet?"

I took one more deep breath. "Yup, I'm good." I replied smugly.

"Listen Keira, if you won't do something then I will. This is our chance! Everyone knows how horrible things have been since the wars ended. And if it's horrible for us, think of how much worse it must be for the other nations!"

"But Sari, you might be killed!" I said aghast.

"So what. A lot of people have already died. I'll just be one more. I'm going to die eventually anyway, I might as well go out with a bang." Toran strutted down the steps at that second, so I ran towards him and quickly pulled him to where Sari and I were talking.

'Toran, thank goodness! Quick, help me knock some sense into Sari. I think she's finally lost it."

"I have not! I just know what I want to do in life!" Toran looked completely confused, so I pulled the letter out and shoved it in his face.

"Here, read it." Toran did, still looking confused until he reached the end of the letter.

"Cool! Did you guys know this was written by the Avatar." He said excitedly.

"Um, Duh! And now, Sari wants to go gallivanting across the world, trying to stop the Fire Lord. Crazy right?" Toran didn't answer, so I started to get nervous.

"Right? Please someone say right!"

"Keira, she has a po-"

"DON'T SAY IT!" I screeched. I couldn't have both my friends against me.

_Don't they see how crazy this is? Don't they get that this isn't just something we can get out of by asking Mai for help? This is our lives we're talking about, and I'm pretty sure we're only given one! How can they both want to throw everything they have away!_ I thought, furious at both of my friends. _They just don't get it! _

"Keira-"

"Oh don't 'Keira' me! If you two want to give up everything just because of a stupid letter, be my guests! But count me out." I said, folding my hands over my chest stubbornly.

Toran looked sad, and softly took my hand in his. I felt my heart flutter as he leaned next to my ear and whispered, "it won't be the same without you. Please, come with us. Come with me."

I shook my head slowly. "I can't. My parents, my siblings, my whole life, has always been in the Fire Nation. How can I just turn my back on that? Turn my back on everything?"

"I don't expect you to turn your back to everything, just to take a step forwards. To the future, towards a better life." He whispered, his lips amazingly close to my ear.

"I- uh- I…" I couldn't finish any of my sentences since my heart was caught in my throat.

"Please Keira. Do it for me." Stupid Toran, use my emotions against me! Argh! I hate him and love him at the same time.

Finally, I managed to cough out. "Our parents-"

"Will understand. I know they will. In fact, I'm sure they'll be proud of us." I took a step back, allowing Toran's hand to slip from my own. He seemed disappointed by this.

'You guys just don't get it. You two are rich and have everything you could ever want. If you just disappeared, they'll be a huge fuss about it, but in the long run, nobody really gets hurt if you leave. But I'm not rich. If I leave, I won't be able to get money for my family, and then my little sister will be forced to help out a lot more." I cast my eyes downward.

"I haven't told you guys yet, but my mother hasn't been feeling well for a while. I… I think she's dying."

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**DoS: Aw, poor Keira!... OUCH! (Zuko finally manages to hit her with a fire ball) THAT HURT!**

**Zuko: (rolls eyes) no kidding, anyway review or you'll feel my wrath! And...(sigh)... DoS says i have to give you a cookie... Oh the torture...**

**DoS: You'll get over it Zuko. REVIEW PLEASE!**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: HIIIII!!! Thanks for all ur reviews! I love them! And i found more Zuko plushies! So you all get mini zukos!!! hehe, I want one!  
**

**Just a recap, Keira found the letter, Sari and Toran want to go find the Avatar (well, find Toph to find the avatar) But Keira can't go because her mother is dieing. So... yup , that's about where I left off. so... ON WITH THE STORY!**

**Disclaimer: May I point out this is 'fanfic'! so if I'm writing it, I obviously don't own it!**

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Chapter 4**

"Keira, we're so sorry." Sari said, pulling me into a hug. I didn't answer, just let her embrace me. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I guess I was… scared, and in denial." I laughed harshly. "I heard the doctors and my mother talking. I heard what he said, but I always just wanted him to be lying. I wanted to stay blind to the truth that was so bluntly right in front of me. Kinda stupid right."

"I don't think it's stupid at all," Toran said, wrapping an arm around me. Sari let go, and Toran took this chance to wrap the other hand around me too. "I think it's very brave how you were able to do all this and still live normally. Most teenagers would have broken down and become all depressed. But not you."

"No, not me," I echoed, " I just hide everything. But that's not much better, is it?"

"No, but it's somewhat better. At least you told us now." He snuggled closer to me, and I breathed in his scent. He smelled like fresh air, just waiting for you to take a deep breath. I've had a crush on him for a while, but never knew if he returned my feelings. I didn't risk telling him incase he didn't feel the same way.

I brought my sleeve up to my eyes to wipe away any unwanted tears.

'You guys probably think I'm such a sap." I said with a small laugh.

"No, well maybe a little." Sari joked. I smiled.

"You know what guys. You're right. About everything. Especially the war and fighting. I think we should go try to find the former Avatar and convince him to fight again. If anyone can stop the Fire Lord, it'll be him. Plus, now he'll have four years of training and chances to master the elements. He's got to have them all down by now."

"What about your family?" Toran asked. His arms were still wrapped around me and I didn't want him to let go.

" We have friends. If anything were to happen to my mother... I'll ask one of them to take care of Nomi, I'm sure they won't mind. This seems really important."

"Keira, you know you're the best?" Toran asked grinning.

"Uh, duh!" I said with a smirk. "Now lets get some sleep. Tomorrows going to be a long day."

I don't think any of us got any sleep that night. Through half of it, we were chatting, and when we actually decided to sleep, we had too much on our minds. The consequences of our choice were enormous, but we knew the risk, and we still took the challenge. I guess that why we were known in school as the 'Dare Devils'. The three of us would do things no one else would.

When morning came around, we were all wide awake, hyped up, and ready to go, even with the minimal sleep we got. After today, there would be no going back.

The walk took two and a half hours just like last time, but the boat ride only one hour, since we manage to steer clear of the shallows. No having to manually push the boat this time!

When we finally hit the banks and returned the boat, we had to think of a way to fool our parents. We all thought it would be safer for them if they were oblivious to our plans.

"Well, we could always just say we're going on another adventure, just not tell them where, or how long it will take. It's technically the truth." Sari said. We were all sitting under a tree we had found in a secluded field. It was were we often went when we wanted to talk in private.

I allowed a small flame to dance over my hand, as I used my Fire Bending to calm my senses.

For some reason, Sari had no fire bending and Toran and I did, but it was common that Fire Bending wasn't past on from family to family, just random. My father had had it before he died, and I inherited it, unlike my sister. Nobody in Toran's family had it since his grandfather and somehow, he had gotten it. Sari's whole family had it except her. Weird logic right? I thought so too.

"It's kind of obvious, but not revealing. So, we just tell there we're going on another on of our trips." Toran said.

'What if they ask where we're going?" I asked, allowing the flame to flicker out of existence.

"We tell them it's a secret. That we promised each other not to tell." Sari said. It sounded like a good idea.

"Okay, I'm going to talk to Mistress Lea and see if she'll watch over my sister incase anything happens to my mother." I said with forged bravery. I didn't really want to think about my mother. I still didn't want to believe there was anything wrong with her. I had problems with acceptance, I know.

"Well, I'll see you two tomorrow. I'm going to go pack some stuff." Sari said with a wave of her hand. In about two seconds she was already out of sight. That girl can run when she wants to.

I shivered as the wind whipped my hair. "You cold?" Toran asked concerned.

"Just a little." I replied truthfully. He scooted closer until our bodies were touching.

"Better?" He asked. I nodded, unable to speak and unable to pull my eyes from him. His raven black hair being tossed slightly by the wind, and his big green eyes watching me contently. I always found it interesting that he had green eyes, because it's very uncommon in the Fire Nation.

For a few minutes, neither of us talked, just watched as the sun slowly sunk into the ground. Finally, Toran broke the tension.

"Keira, I'm sorry about what I said to you at the temple. I should have realized something was wrong right away. I never meant for it to go so far." He seemed genuinely sorry. Boys can be very clueless.

"It's okay. You were right. I guess I was the one who needed some sense talked into me, not Sari. Anyway, someone was going to have to knock some into me one of these day." He laughed and I grinned.

Eventually, he stood up and held out his hand to me. 'Come on, We had better head home. Our parents will be wondering where we are." I finally realized how dark it had gotten. The stars glittered over head, and the moon seemed to shine extra bright.

"Okay," I said, pulling myself up, with his help. "Meet me back here tomorrow, with all your supplies. We'll have to see if we can get a steam boat this time, since I am not going to row for who knows how long!" We both laughed as we started to walk down the street,

"Okay, I'll make sure it is a steam boat this time. All we'll need to do is use fire bending to make it go… we'll this is your stop." He said pausing in front of my house.

"Yeah, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I said, heading up my walkway. He grabbed my hand and I turned around to face him, a blush creeping up his face.

"Um… yeah, see you." He said, releasing my hand. He paused for a second as if debating with himself, but ended up just turning away quickly and hurrying down the street.

_What was that all about?_ I thought confused.

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**DoS: Ooo... Do I sense some romance in the air??? Who knows what will happen next? (Oh yeah, me!) lol, review please! Zuko stole and hid all the plushies of himself, so I can't give you that, but you can have... and Sokka plshie! Not as great as zuko...**

**Sokka: HEY!**

**DoS: hehe, just kidding sokka _(not)_ Anyway please review! (Oh, and for those wondering, the original characters will be reintroduced soon!)  
**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I'm in a serious writers slump on this story and thinking of discontinuing. Depending on the reviews. It's up to you guys now...**

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**Chapter 5**

"All packed." I said, throwing the last of the stuff into the boat. Just as Toran had promised, he had found a steam ship. Thank god for that!

"Um… guys, I hate to be the downer. I mean I really, Really,_Really_, hate to, but we have no clue where we're going." Sari said truthfully. We all paused what we were doing.

"Oh, good point. I guess we're getting ahead of ourselves. Hey Keira, is there anything in the letter that may be a hint to where Aang went?" Toran asked. I pulled out the letter and skimmed it quickly.

"Nope, he just says he's leaving for far away, and that can be anywhere… but, it does say the last name of this earth bending girl. Toph Bei Fong."

"Bei Fong, Bei Fong…" Toran tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I've heard that name somewhere…. Oh! I_ KNOW_! My parents were talking about it a few days ago. The Bei Fongs are a very powerful Earth Kingdom family. The Fire Lord has some control over them, which lead to control over a lot of the Earth Kingdom. At least, that's what my parents said."

"But if they were helping the Avatar, why would they fall to the Fire Lord?" Sari asked.

"Everyone falls eventually." Toran said grimly. This left us in an awkward silence for a few minutes.

"So, let's head over to the Earth Kingdom. If we can find the Bei Fongs, we can find Toph, and if we find Toph, we find the avatar." I said happily. At least we had a heading now.

"Right!" Toran and I started up the boat with fire bending while Sari stood behind the wheel.

"Show off!" She yelled from where she was steering.

"Jealous!" I yelled back playfully. We had this conversation a lot, usually ending in a draw.

"Um, Keira, I hate to pull you away from your conversation, but help!" Toran said. The ship would usually be fueled with a fire bender heating up the coal until they were hot enough to keep the ship going for a while. But it took a full-fledged fire bending master to do it on his own, so Toran and me worked together.

"Oops! Sorry!" I said, starting up my stream of fire again. After about two minutes, it was hot enough for us to stop. Toran and I headed up on deck to cool down.

"Phew, I will never get over about how hot it can get in there." Toran said wiping some sweat from his brow. I leaned against the railing, allowing the wind to whip my face. Toran leaned next to me, but he had his back to the rail and his hands behind him.

"What'cha thinking about?" he questioned with a grin.

"Nothing." I answered.

'Hmm, well I guess nothing can be very interesting, since you seem to be in your own little world right now." I blushed.

"So what are you _really_ thinking about?"

"You know me way too well Toran." He smirked.

"Of course I do Keira. I've known you since I was five. If I remember correctly, we were in a park, and there were two boys bothering you…" I laughed at the memory.

'Then you came over and told them to back off. I think one of them kicked you in the shin and you started crying." I filled in.

"And then you kicked him right back and told him to go get a life." Toran laughed. "Since that day, we've been best friends. I don't remember if it was your adorable face that pulled me in, or your aggressive attitude."

"It might have been your fear that I might beat you up." I offered slyly.

"Aww, you would never do that Keira. You're too nice."

"Hey!" I defended myself, "I kicked that other boy!"

"Protecting me."

"Because you couldn't protect yourself!"

Now it was Toran's turn to protest. "Hey!" I just laughed, and he joined in.

"When did everything change?" I asked in a more solemn voice.

"What do you mean?" Toran replied confused.

"When did everything stop being as simple as a kick to the shin, or a small fight on the playground. When did the world get so… real?"

"When we got older I guess. Maybe it was always real, we just had to mature and open our eyes." He said very physiologically.

"Then I wish my eyes would close once more." I bowed my head downward to look into the water.

"I-"

"GUYS!!! HELP ME OUT HERE! COME ON, WHERE ARE YOU!?" Sari's yells echoed through the whole ship. I stood up straight and straightened my pants and over-layering skirt. "We had better go see what she needs." I said, starting to walk towards the door._(The steering wheel is in a separate room)_ I paused when I saw he wasn't following.

"Coming?" I asked. He looked like he was ready to say something, but closed his mouth and forced a grin.

"Yeah, I'm coming." He answered, following me below deck.

"THERE you two are! I spotted a fire navy ship, and we aren't exactly supposed to be sailing this far out, on a school day no less!" Sari said, fear obvious in her voice.

"Chill, we'll just tell them…" Toran trailed off as he looked out the window. "Oh no."

I laid a hand on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"That's one of the royal families ships. You can tell the difference by the insignia on the side. If they catch us, we're as good as dead."

"Should we try to outrun them? This is a small ship, they might not even notice." I said hopefully.

Toran shook his head. "No, the best thing to do is let them board and just claim that we got lost. We'll be guided back to the Fire nation and just have to start over tomorrow."

"Maybe they'll just-"

_Slam!_ The sound of a gangplank hitting the deck echoed throughout the ship.

'Never mind." Sari finished.

"Let's just go up there and meet them. We can try to talk our way out of this." I said optimistically. They nodded and we headed up deck to face the Fire Nation soldiers.

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**Well, do you guys want me to continue? If I do the next chapter is going to contain the Aang Gang. If not well, hope you've enjoyed it so far!**

** dragon of spirits **


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